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DISCLAIMER – I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters from said show. All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi. No monetary gain was made from the writing or posting this story.

WARNING – This story contains explicit details of sexual encounters, some of which may or may not be included in this chapter. It contains subjects that some may find offensive, including, but not limited to: exhibitionism, anal, and voyeurism. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 – YOU SHOULDN'T BE READING THIS ANYWAY – LEAVE NOW. IF ANY OF THE ABOVE MIGHT BOTHER YOU – LEAVE NOW. You were warned. Do not review, crying about how sick and twisted I am. I do not care.

FLIGHT – part VI – by - Jade_Samuri

After sharing a pleasant breakfast down in the hotel restaurant, Kagome and Sesshomaru parted ways. Kagome had more work to do in the office, and Sesshomaru needed to go prepare the plane for take-off. Kagome was scheduled to fly back to Houston later in the day. Another one of their pilots, Kouga, had flown Mr. Nishida from the New York office, so there was no conflict there. Still, the plane had to be refueled and given a customary safety inspection before they would be allowed on the tarmac.

Kagome, on the other hand, needed to give statements to the team of investigators so that charges could be pursued against Kito, Masaru, and Rikashi. Nishida-san was already at the office, though Kagome doubted that he had ever left, with several prominent clients who had been victims of the scandal. From what she could gather, they were going to lose a few clients. Honestly, she had expected that. But hopefully, they would not lose too many. This office brought in a lot of revenue for their firm's US branches. She would hate to see this fiasco trickle down to negatively impact the other branches. Kagome was sure that Nishida-san would do whatever necessary to prevent that from happening.

XXX

Hours later, as Kagome prepared to return to the hotel to pack; Mr. Nishida pulled her to the side.

"Miss Higurashi," he said as he grabbed her elbow in passing, "could I have a moment of your time? I understand that you need to get back to your hotel, so I will make this brief."

"Of course, Nishida-san."

"I have looked over the files that were flagged, as well as the others. You found discrepancies that most would overlook."

"I was simply following protocol, Nishida-san. I am unsure how they were not spotted at an earlier time."

"Regardless, they were not. It took you less than 24 hours to find the inaccuracies and pinpoint who was responsible for them. You have a keen eye for detail, Higurashi, one that I believe will be an asset to our Loss Prevention team."

"Arigato, Nishida-san, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes. I haven't been with the firm long enough to earn such a prestigious position."

"Who owns this company, Higurashi?" he asked gruffly.

"You do, sir," she replied with her head bowed in apology.

"If I didn't think you would be a benefit to the team, I would not have suggested it, Higurashi. Are you saying that you don't have faith in my ability to run my company?"

"No, Nishida-san."

"I thought not. Now. Go back to Houston and take the rest of the week off. I will have my assistant contact you early next week with more details. You will be flying to Seattle the first week of August to train in the office there. From there you will be flying to Calgary the following week. We have a newly opened branch there and I would like for you to look over the accounts with the new branch manager. You may be there a while, so pack accordingly."

"As you wish, Nishida-san," Kagome replied with a bow to the older man as he dismissed her and turned back to one of the clients.

XXX

After a return trip to the hotel to gather her belongings and check out, Kagome arrived at the airport in a melancholy mood. It was not as if she didn't want to advance in the company, because she did. It was the fact that Mr. Nishida had basically given her no choice. She was not sure that she was ready for such a large step up; in fact, she was quite certain that she wasn't. Either way, the opportunity had been thrust into her lap without the option to decline, so she would have to make the best of it. The worst that could happen would be a nervous breakdown from stress.

Lost in her thoughts, Kagome was so oblivious to her surroundings that she didn't even notice InuYasha approaching.

"What's eatin' you?" he asked as he plopped into the seat beside her.

"Huh?' she asked as she looked up. "Oh, it's you," she sighed.

"Sorry I ain't your fuck buddy," he groused as he made himself comfortable.

"Are you always so foul mouthed, or is this a special occasion?" Kagome complained.

"Nope, I'm always like this…gives a little flavor to things. But seriously, what's bothering you? I hope that my asshole brother didn't piss you off. You're good for him."

"No, it's not that. It's my boss."

InuYasha looked at her expecting her to continue her explanation.

"He promoted me."

"Well hell, that's good news," he grinned. "Ain't it?" he asked as he saw her crestfallen look.

"Well, normally I would say yes. But I don't really think that I am ready for it."

"Then tell him."

"I did. He didn't listen. He told me that it was his company and that he knew what he was doing."

"Well, maybe he sees something that you don't."

"Maybe," Kagome sighed with uncertainty.

"Anyway, it's about time to take off. We need to get you boarded. So come on, Sesshomaru is waiting with the plane."

"Hm? Oh ok." Kagome rose and followed

XxXxXxXx

She seated herself and buckled in without a word. Irritated by being ignored, InuYasha sulked into the cabin and plopped into the co-pilot's seat.

"Problems, whelp?" Sesshomaru inquired as he began powering up the engine to taxi down the runway.

"Piss off, asshole. She's your bitch, you go fix her."

"What, pray tell, are you rambling on about."

"Higurashi. She's off in la-la land. I practically had to drag her onto the plane. She didn't even hear the boarding call. I tried talking to her, but she wasn't all there."

"Ah, you're angry because you are being ignored by an attractive woman. One would have thought you'd be used to it by now."

InuYasha grabbed the crotch of his pants as he stood to flip the overhead switches. "Choke on it, you freaking pansy."

"I believe I will pass. However, if you care to enjoy the in-flight entertainment, you might pick up a few pointers to teach Shiori."

"I'll pass, thank you very much. We do just fine on our own… got a kid on the way to prove it," InuYasha crowed smugly.

"Does father know yet?"

"Nah. We're gonna tell him when I get back."

"Make certain that you do. You know how he gets regarding pups."

"Yeah, yeah," InuYasha muttered before turning his attention to the instrument panel.

XxXxXxXx

Eyes blinking open at the feel of a hand sliding up the inside of her thigh, Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin as she struggled to regain her bearings. Sesshomaru's mouth hovered scant millimeters from her own, his warm breath ghosting across her lips. Not giving her time to protest, he pressed forward and claimed a kiss. Her response was less enthusiastic than he had hoped for. With a sigh, he released her and took her hands in his own.

"You are exhausted," he commented as he kissed her knuckles. "It seems that I wore you out last night."

"No," Kagome she replied, with a yawn.

"Lies do not suit you, Kagome," he scolded.

"Ok, maybe a little," she admitted. "But it's not only that. This morning was rather rough."

"How so?" he inquired as he took a seat next to her.

Kagome went on to explain how she had been railroaded by her boss, into a position that she didn't really want.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Did you get her straightened out?" InuYasha asked as Sesshomaru took his seat in the cabin.

"You have doubts?"

"Keh, whatever."

"I assure you, it is taken care of," Sesshomaru said as he slid into his seat.

XxXxXxXxXx

Kagome de-boarded the plane after a brief kiss from Sesshomaru and made her way to her car without a backwards glance. She was exhausted. Her whole body felt numb and the stress of the previous days was bearing down on her.

"I think I am going to sleep for the rest of the week," she muttered as she threw her bag into the trunk of her car.

XxXxXxXxXx

Two weeks later –

As expected, Kagome had been contacted by Mr. Nishida's personal assistant on the Monday following her return from Washington. She had gone in to work to find a stack of documents waiting on her desk – a very large stack. As instructed, Kagome had spent the remainder of the week reviewing said documents, as well as the array of files that had been waiting in her email, in preparation for her trip to Spokane.

"Kagome," Erin said as she poked her head into her superior's office, "come to lunch with me.

"I can't," Kagome replied without ever looking up from the stack of papers that she was reading.

"Bullshit!" Erin said as she stomped over to Kagome's desk and slammed the file folder shut. "You are coming with me," she said as she grabbed Kagome's hand and dragged her from behind the desk.

"But…"

"Shut it!" Erin commanded. "You are coming and that is final." She grabbed Kagome's purse and locked the door behind her as she dragged her towards the elevator.

XxXxXxXxXx

"You need to eat, Kagome," Erin informed her as she seated herself at the table across from Kagome. She thrust a menu in front of her. "You are looking a little ragged. I know you are exhausted and I know that you are busy. But you haven't been eating."

"Thank you, Erin. I really needed this. I haven't been feeling to well. Maybe it's all the stress."

"Perhaps."

XxXxXxXxXx

The following Monday found Kagome sitting at the airport once more, still feeling melancholy and nauseous. Despite her attempts at eating, she was able to keep very little of it down. She had gone out to eat with several of the girls from work, again at their insistence, and she had managed to keep that from finding its way back up. And as she sat at the airport reflecting on that dinner, Kagome was practically salivating at the thought of the rare steak she had eaten for dinner the previous night, where normally the just the thought of barely cooked meat was enough to make her stomach rebel. Shaken out of her reverie by a stranger calling her name, she gathered her carry-on and stood to greet him. "Kouga Wakeshima," he introduced himself as he shook her hand politely. "I'm going to be your pilot today." "Higurashi Kagome," she replied with a polite bow. He took her carry-on from her and motioned for her to follow him. "Yeah, InuYasha already told me all about you." Behind him, Kagome blanched at the thought that InuYasha might have told him about what she and Sesshomaru had done on the trip to DC. She made a mental note to kill the hanyou if one word of it managed to reach her ears via the mouth of the handsome stranger who was carrying her bag.

XxXxXxXxXx

The flight was rather uneventful. In fact, it was rather boring though she did manage to catch up on some of the sleep that had evaded her in the preceding week. Before she knew it, she was being shaken awake by InuYasha telling her that they had landed in Seattle and it was time for her to de-board. She hurriedly gathered her carry-on and exited the plane, eager to have her feet on solid ground again.

XxXxXxXxXx

The week in Seattle was miserable. It rained the entire week and it was chilly as well. Kagome, having never been to the Pacific Northwest, was woefully unprepared for the weather. She ended up having to get someone from the office to show her a shopping mall where she could find more suitable attire and another suitcase in which to put it. Opting to spend her evenings in her hotel room, Kagome felt very alone and out of her element.

XxXxXxXxXx

By the time that she was ready to leave for Calgary, Kagome was a nervous wreck. She hardly slept and the stress was wearing at her. Her normal diet now made her sick, hell, it seemed like everything made her sick. In her misery, all Kagome really wanted was to go home to Houston and crawl into her bed to hibernate for a week – maybe two - she hadn't quite decided on that one. But despite what she wanted, she was expected to follow orders and travel to Calgary with two of the executives from the Seattle office. She was to go over the accounts and the employee dockets with the branch manager, while her co-workers from Seattle trained new recruits. Nishida-sensei had gone out on a limb to hire her straight out of university, and she did not want to disappoint him.

"Kagome," the male executive that was seated across from her in the airport terminal asked, "are you sure that I can't persuade you to go out to dinner with me, once we reach Calgary?"

"Taylor," the woman next to him said as she smacked his arm, "you know what will happen if Mr. Nishida get word about this."

"Jeeze, Kris, lighten up already. I am just asking her to dinner. It's not like I am asking her to have my baby."

"Don't pay any attention to him, Kagome," Kris imparted, "he does this to every female he comes into contact with."

"Krishna?" Kagome asked as she rose form her seat. "Could you please watch my stuff? I'm going to the restroom."

"Sure, but nobody calls me Krishna. Everyone calls me Kris. I think it's less awkward for them."

"I don't see why," Kagome commented as she turned to leave. "It IS your given name."

"Poor girl," Kris said as Kagome disappeared into the restroom. "She's Nishida's little pet. She has no idea how hard it is for a woman to get anywhere in this country – especially for a single, foreign woman. Even so, she's been handed a tall order to fill. I hope she can handle it. She's pretty nice. I would hate to see this promotion ruin her."

"Excuse me," a male voice called out. "I am sorry to interrupt, but are you the executives from Nishida-Lotte?"

Kris stood and extended her hand to the stranger, silently appreciating the snug fit of the man's trousers and the way that his crimson eyes lingered a little too long on her chest. "Krishna Kapoor, Assistant Director of Personnel." Motioning to the man seated across from her she continued, "and this is Taylor Brightman, from our Dallas office."

The handsome demon took Kris's hand and placed a kiss on the back of her hand with a bow, smiling as a light blush crept across the woman's cheeks. "Hiten Kuwadate at your service. Aren't there supposed to be three of you?"

"Miss Higurashi went to the ladies room."

"Ah, I see. Well, it is time to get you boarded. I will carry her luggage if you would go retrieve her. We need to get you all situated quickly so that we can take off. There is some bad weather coming in and we don't want to be grounded."

"I see. I'll go get her," she said as she headed for the ladies room.

Upon her entry into the restroom, she found Kagome lying on the couch in the waiting area with a wet paper towel across her forehead.

"Are you going to be ok?" Kris asked as she approached the prone woman.

"Yeah. I'm just feeling nauseous. I thought this might help."

"It's time to board. One of the pilots is already carrying your baggage. He said something about some bad weather and needing to leave early so we don't get stuck here."

"Alright," Kagome said as she sat up, tossing the paper towel into the wastebasket. "I'm right behind you."

XxXxXxXxXx

Takeoff was uneventful and smooth, despite the fact that Kagome felt as if there was a fifty-pound weight sitting on her chest and her stomach wanted to crawl up her throat and introduce itself to the rest of her companions. She really didn't want to be on that plane. What she really wanted was to crawl into a nice, dark little hole and die and nothing that anyone said or did helped.

XxXxXxXxXx

About two hours into the flight, Sesshomaru made an appearance to check on everyone. The look on his face when he spotted her told Kagome that she did indeed look as bad as she felt.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked as he knelt in front of her. When she didn't answer immediately, he tried again. "Kagome," he slipped as he brushed his hand across her forehead to check for a fever. "What is wrong?"

"I'm not sure," she replied as she pressed her face against his hand. "It's a little better now, though."

The plane pitched violently, jolting everyone awake. "I'll be back in a moment. Stay in your seats," Sesshomaru commanded as he rose and disappeared into the cockpit.

The turbulence continued.

XxXxXxXxXx

Hiten appeared a few moments later, and the look on his face sent Kagome's stomach plummeting straight to her feet.

"We have a problem," he began. "There is no easy way to say this, so I am going to be blunt. We are going down. One of the engines has stopped completely, and the other one can not keep up," he explained as proceeded to throw life vests at everyone. "There is a lake just north of here. Sesshomaru is going to attempt a water landing," he continued as he helped secure the life vests on his passengers. "It will be rough, but I know that he can pull it off. He is the best pilot in the company, and one of the best in the world. Just stay belted into your seats until the plane comes to a stop. Close the blinds in case of breaking glass and use these pillows to help pad your heads." He tossed a pillow to everyone. "Bend over and place the pillow across the top of your heads, like a tornado drill."

After seeing that everyone had complied, Hiten disappeared back into the cockpit and closed the door behind him.

XxXxXxXxXx

The plane jolted viciously as it made impact with the water. Kagome could feel it as the water began to tear at the bottom of the plane. She whimpered as the plane began to bounce along the surface of the water.

The noise was near unbearable as the windows shattered behind the blinds, and Kagome was thankful that Hiten had made them close them. It had spared them from most of the flying glass. The plane felt as if it were being ripped apart as it came to an abrupt stop...

XxXxXxXxXx

To be continued…

XxXxXxXxXx

Reviews anyone…?